Sealed Break-Open Package Provided with A High-Precision Delivery Mechanism

ABSTRACT

A sealed break-open package; the sealed package has: a first sheet of semi-rigid plastic material; a second sheet of flexible plastic material superimposed on and sealed to the first sheet to define a sealed pocket that contains a dose of a product; and a pre-weakened area that is created in a central area of the first sheet for guiding, following bending of the sealed package, controlled breakage of the first sheet at the pre-weakened area so as to form an outlet opening for the product through the first sheet. The first sheet has a U-shaped protuberance that extends from a side of the first sheet outside of the pocket and is arranged at the pre-weakened area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102018000001309 filed on 18 Jan. 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sealed break-open package.

PRIOR ART

Patent application WO2009040629A2 describes a sealed break-open package; the sealed package comprises a sheet of semi-rigid plastic material and a sheet of flexible plastic material, which is superimposed on and sealed to the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material to define a sealed pocket that contains a dose of a liquid product.

The sheet of semi-rigid plastic material has a pre-weakened area at the centre that guides a controlled breakage of the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material so as to cause the formation of an outlet opening for the product through the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material.

In other words, in use, to open the sealed package a user must grasp the sealed package with the fingers of one hand and bend the sealed package in a “V” until the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material breaks at the pre-weakened area. The pre-weakened area comprises an internal incision made in an inner surface (i.e. facing towards the pocket) of the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material and an external incision made in an outer surface of the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material and aligned with the internal incision.

The sealed package described in patent application WO2009040629A2 does not allow high-precision in delivering a liquid contained inside it in a small space (for example, the inlet mouth of a tank of an electronic device that uses the liquid for its operation).

Patent application US2012241466A1 discloses a dispensing device including a backing, at least a first product compartment and a fluid transport device; the backing is a frangible section adapted to at least partially open as the backing is moved from a first position toward a second position.

Patent application WO2012113734A1 discloses a package having flexible walls, such as a sachet or an external pouch made of plastic, which is intended to contain a first product and at least one flexible internal pouch which can be ruptured or torn and contains a second product, preferably liquid, which is intended to be mixed with said first product in said sachet or said external pouch.

Patent application WO2014141728A1 discloses a break-to-open structure for a break-to-open package, whereby the package can be easily broken open just by bending with the fingers and the contents of the package can be smoothly extracted.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a sealed break-open package that enables high-precision delivery of a liquid contained inside it in a small space and, at the same time, is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

According to the present invention, a sealed break-open package is provided, as set forth in the appended claims. The claims describe embodiments of the present invention, forming an integral part of this description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some non-limitative embodiments in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a sealed break-open package made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view from below of the sealed package in

FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the section line III-III of a sheet of semi-rigid plastic material of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along section line IV-IV of the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along section line V-V of the sheet of semi-rigid plastic material;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the sealed package in FIG. 1 when the liquid product contained in the sealed package is dispensed into the inlet mouth of a tank;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the sealed package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a right side view of the sealed package in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 13 is a left side view of the sealed package in FIG. 1.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 indicates, on a whole, a sealed break-open package. The sealed package 1 comprises a substantially rectangular sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material (visible in FIGS. 1 and 2) and a substantially rectangular sheet 3 of flexible plastic material (only visible in FIG. 1), which is superimposed on and sealed to the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material to define a sealed pocket 4 that contains a dose of a (preferably liquid) fluid product 5. As shown, the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material has longer sides that extend in a longitudinal direction D1 and shorter sides that extend in a transverse (lateral) direction D2.

The fluid product 5 may be, or may include, a vaporizable solution such as an “e-liquid” (i.e. a liquid for electronic cigarettes). As such, in some embodiments, the fluid product 5 may include nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerine, water, and/or flavorings (natural and/or artificial). In other embodiments, the fluid product 5 may, additionally or alternatively, contain one or more non-nicotine stimulants and/or other suitable ingredients.

The sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material has a centrally located pre-weakened area 6 (visible in FIG. 2), which is created in a central area of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material (in particular in a longitudinally central area), extending transversely (i.e. parallel to the shorter sides of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material), and guides a controlled breakage of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material so as to cause the formation of an outlet opening for the (preferably liquid) product 5 through the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material.

In other words, in use, to open the sealed package 1, a user grasps the sealed package 1 with the fingers of one hand and bends the sealed package 1 in a “V” shape until the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material breaks at the pre-weakened area 6 (as shown in FIG. 6). By breaking the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material at the pre-weakened area 6, the (preferably liquid) product 5 can be poured out of the sealed package 1 in a simple and hygienic manner.

In the illustrative embodiment, the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material has a U-shaped protuberance 7 that extends in the transverse direction D2 from a longer side of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material and is located at the pre-weakened area 6, or rather, it is aligned (centred) with the pre-weakened area 6. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 1-2, the illustrative protuberance 7 includes two concave portions 16 that extend laterally from an outer edge of a main body 17 of the sheet 2 and meet at a convex portion 18 of the protuberance 7.

In other embodiments, it should be appreciated that the protuberance 7 may be otherwise shaped. For example, in some embodiments, the protuberance 7 may include two portions 16 that meet at a most laterally protruding point of the protuberance 7. In yet another embodiment, the protuberance 7 may include one or more rectangular, or otherwise shaped, bodies that extend laterally from the outer edge of the main body 17.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, only the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material has the protuberance 7 and therefore the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material is without the protuberance 7 (i.e. the sheet 3 does not extend into the protuberance 7); in consequence, the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material is shaped slightly different from (i.e. not completely superimposable on) the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material in the illustrative embodiment.

According to an alternative embodiment, the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material also has the protuberance 7 (i.e. similar to the sheet 2, the sheet 3 also extends into the protuberance 7); in such embodiments, the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material is shaped to be completely superimposable on the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material. As shown in FIG. 1, the illustrative protuberance 7 extends a length L (measured along the longitudinal direction D1) of approximately 9-10 mm from the outer edge of the main body 17 of the sheet 2 and has a maximum width W (measured along the transverse direction D2) of approximately 25 mm. However, it should be appreciated that the protuberance 7 may have other dimensions in other embodiments.

As shown in the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2-5, the pre-weakened area 6 comprises two external incisions 8 and 9, which are aligned with each other, separated from each other (i.e. there is a non-zero lateral distance between the two external incisions 8 and 9), are oriented parallel to the transverse direction D2 and transversely relative to the length of the package 1 (e.g. shown as being parallel to the shorter sides of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material), and are made in an outer surface 10 (i.e. opposite an internal surface 12 that defines the pocket 4) of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material.

External incision 8 is opposite to the protuberance 7 (and so at a certain distance from the protuberance 7), while external incision 9 is next to the protuberance 7 and also extends along the protuberance 7 (i.e. it occupies the protuberance 7 and extends up to an outer edge of the protuberance 7); moreover, in addition to extending on one side along the protuberance 7, external incision 9 also extends with its other side over the pocket 4 (i.e. part of external incision 9 opposite to the protuberance 7 overlaps the pocket 4).

Furthermore, the pre-weakened area 6 comprises an internal incision 11 that is transversely oriented (i.e. parallel to the transverse direction D2), is parallel to and aligned with (e.g. within the same plane of) external incision 9, and is made in an inner surface 12 (i.e. facing towards the pocket 4) of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material opposite to the outer surface 10. In the illustrative embodiment, the internal incision 11 only extends over the pocket 4 (i.e. the internal incision 11 is entirely superimposed on the pocket 4) and only over external incision 9 (i.e. the internal incision 11 is entirely superimposed on external incision 9). In other words, the illustrative internal incision 11 does not extend laterally beyond the edge of the pocket 4.

In other words, in the illustrative embodiment, the internal incision 11 only extends in an area where both the pocket 4 (on the side of the inner surface 12 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material) and external incision 9 (on the side of the outer surface 10 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material) are present.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material is constituted by a laminate comprising a supporting layer 13 arranged externally (i.e. on the opposite side to the pocket 4 and at the outer surface 10) and a heat-sealable layer 14 arranged internally (i.e. on the same side as the pocket 4, and at the inner surface 12, and in contact with the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material at the periphery of the pocket 4).

An insulating or barrier layer 15, or one having the purpose of ensuring impermeability to air and/or light, is provided between the supporting layer 13 and the heat-sealable layer 14. By way of non-limitative example, the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material could be composed of a white polystyrene (PS) supporting layer 13 having a thickness of 400 micron (±10%), of an “Evoh” or aluminium barrier layer 15 having a thickness of 7 micron (±10%), and a polyethylene (PE) heat-sealable layer having a thickness of 43 micron (±10%). It should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the sheet 2 may be composed of one or more other suitable types of materials having suitable dimensions consistent with the functions described herein.

The illustrative external incisions 8 and 9 are made in the outer surface 10 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material, have a V-shaped cross-section, and are made by locally deforming the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material; according to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the external incisions 8 and 9 are made by deforming only the supporting layer 13 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material, i.e. the external incisions 8 and 9 only occupy the supporting layer 13 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material. In other embodiments, the external incisions 8 and 9 may have an otherwise shaped cross-section (e.g. a U-shaped cross-section).

The illustrative internal incision 11 is made in the inner surface 12 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material, has a V-shaped cross-section, and is made by locally deforming the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material; according to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the internal incision 11 is made by deforming all three of the supporting 13, heat-sealable 14 and barrier 15 layers of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material. In other embodiments, the internal incision 11 may have an otherwise shaped cross-section (e.g. a U-shaped cross-section).

It is important to note that, in the illustrative embodiment, the heat-sealable layer 14 and especially the barrier layer 15 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material are locally deformed (even in an irregular manner) along the internal incision 11, but are not torn, i.e. they are still integral.

Due to the substantial integrity of the barrier layer 15 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material, also along the internal incision 11 made in the inner surface 12 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material, it is possible to ensure the substantial insulation (e.g. food- or medical-grade insulation) of the pocket 4, which is thus suitable for also containing perishable products and/or products with controlled bacteria counts such as foods, medicines or cosmetics.

In use and as shown in FIG. 6, when breaking open the sealed package 1, achieved by bending the sealed package 1 in a “V” shape, all three of the supporting 13, heat-sealable 14 and barrier 15 layers of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material are broken at the pre-weakened area 6.

External incision 9 (in the portion superimposed on the internal incision 11) and the internal incision 11 serve to cause the controlled breakage of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material when the sealed package 1 is bent in a “V” shape, to allow dispensing of the product 5 contained in the pocket 4. External incision 9 (in particular, in the portion not superimposed on the internal incision 11) also serves to guide folding the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material in a “V” shape in such a way that the vertex of the “V” shaped fold in the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material coincides with the incisions 8, 9 and 11.

External incision 9 (in the portion not superimposed on the internal incision 11 and extending along the protuberance 7) also serves to guide the product 5 coming out through the fractured sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material in such a way that the product 5 runs across the entire protuberance 7 along external incision 9 until it leaves the protuberance 7 (and therefore the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material and the sealed package 1) from the central area (where external incision is located) of the protuberance 7. In other words, the protuberance 7 allows for highly controlled dispensing of the product 5.

External incision 8 (as it is on the opposite side to the protuberance 7 and is not superimposed on the internal incision 11) only serves to guide folding the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material in a “V” shape in such a way that the vertex of the “V” shaped fold in the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material coincides with the incisions 8, 9 and 11.

According to an alternative embodiment, external incision 8 is not provided (or rather, only external incision 9 and the internal incision 11 are provided).

According to a further embodiment, external incision 9 does not extend along the entire protuberance 7, but stops before the protuberance 7 or only occupies part of the protuberance 7.

According to another embodiment, external incision 9 is connected to external incision 8 without any interruption; or rather, the two external incisions 8 and 9 together form a single external incision that occupies the entire transverse extension of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material.

In some embodiments, the internal incision 11 has variable depth along its length; when included, this characteristic improves the opening of the sealed package 1 when the sealed package 1 is folded in a “V” shape. In other words, the variable depth of the internal incision 11 along its length enables achieving progressive fracturing of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material when the sealed package 1 is folded in a “V” shape.

Similarly, in some embodiments, external incision 9 also has variable depth along its length. In other words, both incisions 9 and 11 may have variable depth along their length, only one of the two incisions 9 and 11 may have variable depth along its length, or both incisions 9 and 11 may have a constant depth along their length depending on the particular embodiment.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the sealed package 1 has a generally rectangular shape. In other embodiments, it should be appreciated that the sealed package 1 may have any other shape suitable for performing the functions described herein and otherwise consistent with the description. For example, in various embodiments, the sealed package 1 may have a generally round shape, elliptical shape, “bottle” shape, rhomboidal shape, regular or irregular polygonal shape (e.g. pentagonal, hexagonal, triangular, square, etc.), “bone” shape, or another suitable shape. Depending on the particular embodiment, ignoring the protuberance 7, the main body 17 of the sheet 2 and the sheet 3 may have a generally symmetric or asymmetric shape. The outer surface 10 of the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material and/or the outer surface of the sheet 3 of flexible plastic material can be printed, both to carry information regarding the product 5 and for greater aesthetic decoration.

In use and as shown in FIG. 6, the user holds the sealed package 1 relatively vertical with the protuberance 7 facing downwards and vertically aligned with the area where it is wished to supply the (preferably liquid) product 5 contained in the pocket 4 (e.g. the inlet mouth of a tank 19 of an electronic device such as a vaporizer). At this point, the user must fold the sealed package 1 in a “V” shape to cause the sheet 2 of semi-rigid plastic material to break at the pre-weakened area 6 as described above (in particular at the internal incision 11); the (preferably liquid) product 5 flows out from the pocket 4 through the internal incision 11 and downwards due to the effect of gravity, across the protuberance 7 until it leaves the sealed package 1 (typically by dripping) from the central area of the protuberance 7. As such, the protuberance 7 serves as a high precision delivery mechanism. To improve the precision of the feeing of the (preferably liquid) product 5 contained in the pocket 4 into the tank 19, the final portion of the protuberance 7 can also be inserted inside the inlet mouth of the tank 19.

As described above, in some embodiments, the fluid product 5 may be a vaporizable e-liquid (e.g. stimulant-containing) substance. In such embodiments, the protuberance 7 serves as a tip or docking station to be inserted in the inlet mouth of a tank of a vaporizer for the safe and high precision dispensing of the product 5 into the vaporizer tank. It should be appreciated that the vaporizable stimulant-containing substance (or other product 5) may be used in conjunction with any of the embodiments and features described herein.

It should be appreciated that the various embodiments described herein can be combined with one another without departing from the scope of the present invention. Additionally, the above-described sealed package 1 has numerous advantages.

For example, the above-described sealed package 1 enables delivering a liquid product 5 contained inside it (namely, in the pocket 4) with extreme precision in a small space.

Furthermore, the above-described sealed package 1 is extremely simple and intuitive to use due to its “asymmetry”, as the user (even if not informed beforehand) naturally tends to hold the sealed package 1 relatively vertically with the protuberance 7 facing downwards and vertically aligned with the area in which it wishes to supply the (preferably liquid) product 5 contained in the pocket 4 (e.g. the inlet mouth of a tank of an electronic device such as a vaporizer).

In other words, the presence of the protuberance 7 gives the sealed package 1 a shape that intuitively guides the user, even if inexperienced, to immediately use the sealed package 1 in the correct manner without any realistic possibility of error.

Also, the above-described sealed package 1 is simple and inexpensive to make.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE FIGURES

-   1 package -   2 semi-rigid sheet -   3 flexible sheet -   4 pocket -   5 product -   6 pre-weakened area -   7 protuberance -   8 external incision -   9 external incision -   10 outer surface -   11 internal incision -   12 inner surface -   13 supporting layer -   14 heat-sealable layer -   15 barrier layer -   16 concave portion -   17 main body -   18 convex portion -   19 tank -   L length -   W width -   D1 longitudinal direction -   D2 transverse direction 

1. A sealed break-open package (1); the sealed package (1) comprising: a first sheet (2) of semi-rigid plastic material; a sealed pocket (4) that contains a dose of a product (5) and is delimited at one side by the first sheet (2); and a pre-weakened area (6) that is created in a central area of the first sheet (2) for guiding, following bending of the first sheet (2), a controlled breakage of the first sheet (2) at the pre-weakened area (6) so as to form an outlet opening for the product (5) through the first sheet (2); wherein the first sheet (2) has a U-shaped protuberance (7) that extends from a side of the first sheet (2) outside of the pocket (4) and is arranged at the pre-weakened area (6).
 2. The sealed package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the product (5) is a vaporizable solution that includes at least one of propylene glycol and glycerine.
 3. The sealed package (1) according to claim 2, wherein the vaporizable solution further includes nicotine.
 4. The sealed package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the protuberance (7) is aligned with the pre-weakened area (6).
 5. The sealed package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the pre-weakened area (6) comprises at least a first external incision (9) made in an outer surface (10) of the first sheet (2), partially extending over the pocket (4), and partially extending over the protuberance (7).
 6. The sealed package (1) according to claim 5, wherein the first external incision (9) extends along the entire protuberance (7) up to an outer edge of the protuberance (7).
 7. The sealed package (1) according to claim 5, wherein the pre-weakened area (6) comprises an internal incision (11) made in an inner surface (12) of the first sheet (2) opposite to the outer surface (10) which extends over the pocket (4), is parallel to and aligned with the first external incision (9), and is superimposed on the first external incision (9) over the pocket (4).
 8. The sealed package (1) according to claim 7, wherein the internal incision (11) is arranged only and exclusively over the pocket (4).
 9. The sealed package (1) according to claim 7, wherein the internal incision (11) is arranged only and exclusively over the first external incision (9).
 10. The sealed package (1) according to claim 5, wherein the pre-weakened area (6) comprises a second external incision (8) made in the outer surface (10) of the first sheet (2) which is parallel to and aligned with the first external incision (9), is arranged at a certain non-zero distance from the first external incision (9), and is arranged on the opposite side with respect to the protuberance (7).
 11. The sealed package (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a second sheet (3) of flexible plastic material that is superimposed on and sealed to the first sheet (2) to define the sealed pocket (4).
 12. The sealed package (1) according to claim 11, wherein only the first sheet (2) of semi-rigid plastic material has the protuberance (7) and therefore the second sheet (3) is without the protuberance (7).
 13. The sealed package (1) according to claim 11, wherein the second sheet (3) also has the protuberance (7).
 14. The sealed package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped protuberance (7) extends from the side of the first sheet (2) a distance of between nine and ten millimetres. 